Page 259 of Ashen Torment

Then he tilts his head toward him.

“Do you not remember?” Elijah then shifts his eyes to me.

“Ebony hair, blue eyes, pale, diaphanous skin...”

He pauses briefly, just long enough to measure the effect of his words.

“The woman with whom you entertained yourself at Le Rêve.”

The name of the brothel hits me like a sharp blow to the sternum.

35

Silence

Evander

Icannot believe what I have just heard.

“Le Rêve?” Isobel pales, her breath hitches, and her fingers seek one another along the edge of her saucer.

Did he truly go to that fucking brothel?

Elijah merely shrugs, offering a smile frivolous enough to be offensive. Dorian moves slowly, lifting his gaze toward him. His jaw is steady, his eyes are not.

“Was it a secret, perhaps?”

I attempt to slide my hand from Dorian’s knee, but his grip tightens.

“If I were you,” Dorian says in a low voice, “I would be more measured in what I allow to escape my mouth.”

“And why is that?”

Nathaniel looks at him, his words falling straight and unadorned. “Certain tongues squawk the moment silence is broken. Your trouble is that your desire to be noticed far outweighs any actual substance.”

The marble of the table creaks beneath Elijah’s fingers as he bolts upright. His hands clinch the edge like talons.

“For the entire time, you have denied me even a glance,” he snaps. “And is this what you had to say? Pray, continue then. Go on with your mute violence.”

Julian places a hand on his shoulder, more to restrain him than to calm him.

I try once more to free myself.

Futile.

I sink my nails into Dorian’s flesh, but he does not react.

Is it my hand that he desires now?

Elijah allows himself to drop back into his chair.

“So, you do not intend to deign me with an answer?”

Nathaniel exhales slowly. “I have already dissipated far too many words upon you. You should feel shame in realizing how necessary it is for you to cast shadows upon others just to snatch a little light for yourself.”

“I have no need of your defenses,” Dorian interjects.

There is nothing that can defend you, sale cochon.